


Crows Have Family Reunions, Too

by Fallowfield



Category: Naruto, Naruto Shippuden
Genre: Christmas Party
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-12
Updated: 2018-12-12
Packaged: 2019-09-16 19:59:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16960554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fallowfield/pseuds/Fallowfield
Summary: How does Itachi survive the annual Uchiha holiday party?





	Crows Have Family Reunions, Too

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Desdimonda](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Desdimonda/gifts).



> A short Christmas gift. I hope you like it!

The only thing Itachi did to defy Fuugaku all year was to sit at the kids’ table, though he felt the pressure radiating from his father to sit beside him. He’d say his son was growing up. His son was peerless, going places. And the others would stare back at him, their jaws set proudly, but their gazes hungry. The compliments always left Itachi empty. They were always saying he wasn’t a kid anymore. But it wasn’t like anyone at this party was was still a kid, anyway. Even Sasuke had grown up. The kids' table was just a second table, but one that was much less intense.

Itachi nursed his drink, the glass hovering at his bottom lip. His dark eyes regarded the room around him, watching how each of his family members descended into drunkenness. There was a reason the holidays were only once a year.

Conflicting emotions always tangled in his throat, and he wasn’t sure if the drink made it better or worse. His face was warm and the lights, already hazy, bled together into a kaleidoscope before him. The colors, although garish, had such a violent element to them but also rang with the deepest nostalgia. Maybe that was just what it felt to be Uchiha. There was the deepest pride and loyalty but the metal stench of blood. The early evenings of winter, even when feasts were being prepared.

He glanced over at Sasuke for a moment. His brother was quiet, which wasn’t surprising, but he was familiar with the pink flush across his face. Neither of them were known for their chattiness.

Meanwhile, a loud, familiar burst of laughter erupted across the room. It wasn’t a party without Shisui. There was something about that guy. He could always feel at ease, even sitting across from what seemed like the firing squad of the senior members of the Uchiha clan. And Itachi noticed they all softened too. Shisui’s laughter ninjutsu. They can’t hurt you if your joke made them tear up.

Apparently, though, through their laughter, all the members of the adult table agreed unanimously to send Shisui over to the kids. He was too drunk. He was starting to slur his words. Itachi pondered his magic. He wasn’t sure if he’d ever made his father laugh. But Shisui seemed to be able to at any moment.

Shisui finally wandered over, cradling his glass, then crumbled in the chair next to Itachi. “Hey ‘tach. Did you know? Crows have family reunions, too.”

Itachi did not move at all in response. “I know. You told me.” His gaze didn’t soften, but Shisui was always welcome in it. He didn’t seem to care if Itachi reacted or not, though.

Shisui hummed to himself. “Heh. I missed you.” He took another sip. “They jus’ wanna talk business, you know.”

So the equilibrium was reached, finally. The only person around whom Itachi could actually allow himself to drift away with drink was finally here. In a way, he envied him. Why couldn’t he act like this around his father? What made it so impossible? They always admired Shisui, regardless. But the mere thought of doing anything but sitting at attention around them was an absolute nightmare.

All of a sudden, he felt thirsty. Itachi set his glass down. “I’ll be back.” He began to pad away, his socks clattering lightly on the tatami as he stood. But as he took a few steps, his foot tangled itself in Shisui’s leg, and he fell all the way to the floor with a tremendous smacking noise. It was a mixture of that he was apparently more drunk than he realized and Shisui’s mischievous nature, emboldened by his state. The room echoed with silence for a moment. Shisui wore a tremendous smirk but then couldn’t hide it any longer. He began to laugh uproariously. “I never expected you to be so clumsy, Itachi.”

Then he bent to help Itachi stand back up. What a gentleman. His assailant was now his aide. Itachi wasn’t angry, but the embarrassment was paralyzing, and he felt the stares from across the room boring into him. He waved away Shisui’s hand and ducked out of the room.

Itachi did admit he avoided Shisui for awhile, as well as his father, but that went without saying. But as the hours stretched on and on, as they did every year with this party, he felt more and more sleepy. Eventually he gave up his attempts at being presentable and curled up in the cushions of the chair in the living room. The more senior members were in the game room, at least, and were easy to avoid.

The light from the kitchen flickered on, draping a sheet of light across Itachi’s face. He squinted. It was Shisui. He seemed glad to see the elusive Itachi. He smiled and sat at the end of the chair. “Hey ‘tach. Did you know? Crows have family reunions, too.” 

Itachi didn’t answer. But the embarrassment had subsided. He was just glad to see somebody who didn’t make him overwhelmingly nervous. He poked Shisui with his sock, then stretched his legs out so he took up the whole length of the chair. Shisui didn’t seem to mind, just sitting beneath Itachi’s legs, serenely leaning his head back and looking at the ceiling. A few minutes of silence passed.

“Hey ‘tach. Did you know?”

**Author's Note:**

> Catch me on twitter @fallofield!


End file.
